1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention described herein pertain to the field of abrading. More particularly, these embodiments enable the abrading of a compact disk in order to destroy information contained therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information storage products in the form of compact discs are increasingly used to store sensitive information. This presents a problem when the information is no longer needed, namely, how to destroy the information so it can not be read again by other parties. In addition, the level of destruction required may differ for different users since government agencies and normal consumers have widely different standards as to what constitutes a disk that is considered unreadable. Persons wishing to throw away a disk are then left with the choice of method for destroying the disk. Methods include scraping the top of the disk with a sharp implement or fracturing the disk which tends to make the disk explode. These methods of destruction can be dangerous to the person destroying the disk or other collocated individuals.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,569, a device is described that removes the information bearing surface of a compact disc. The device is constructed to meet government requirements for total destruction of the information carried on a compact disc. The device is too heavy, too expensive and destroys the information bearing surface of a disk to an extent far greater than required for a consumer based application. As listed in the specification, the device has a height of 8 inches, a depth of 10 inches and a width of 10 inches and a weight of 30 pounds. This device is directed towards government agencies requiring destruction of substrate down to 250 microns.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,637, a device is described that removes the information bearing surface of a compact disc. The device is constructed to meet government requirements for total destruction of the information carried on a compact disc. The device is an improvement upon U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,569 in that it contains another chamber in which to even further reduce the size of the particulate material created by the initial scraping process. The device is heavier than the parent device discussed previously, too expensive and destroys the information bearing surface of a disk to an extent far greater than required for a consumer based application.
In U.S. Pat. No. Application Publication 20030006330 a paper shredder is supplemented with a third wheel that is used in order to break a compact disk or credit card. This device requires electrical power and is not easily transported due to its size and weight.